The Winter Universiade will be the main sports event of the year 2019 in Russia

U-Laika, the official mascot of the 2019 Winter Universiade, at a ceremony to launch a 2019 Winter Universiade themed train

MOSCOW, November 8. /TASS/. A ceremony to launch a new themed train on the Moscow metro, this time showcasing the upcoming Winter Universiade due in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk in 2019, took place on Thursday, TASS reports from the site.

"Inside the train carriages are unusual facts about sports, about the life in the north of our country, and it seems to me that no one will be left indifferent," Olga Golodets said. "It has been designed ably from the professional point of view, the designers did a good job, it has been designed interestingly from the point of view of facts and their presentation. I want to thank all who participated in designing this train," the deputy prime minister said.

The Winter Universiade will be the main sports event of the year 2019 in Russia, the sports minister said. He said some of the Moscow metro's themed trains had already been devoted to sports - showcasing the 2017 Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. "We have several months left before the competitions, and every day is filled with very interesting events - the Universiade Flame is now traveling across the country, and today’s event is very important as the Universiade is the main sports event of 2019," Kolobkov said.

"Muscovites and guests of the capital city riding the Moscow metro will be able to learn more about our city and the upcoming competitions, buy tickets and come to visit us," Maxim Urazov said.

The Russian Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, which has a population of over one million, is set to host the 2019 Winter Universiade next year between March 2 and 12. The Winter Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival which is staged every two years in a different city. The name of the international sports event is a combination of two words, which are ‘University’ and ‘Olympiad.’

It is only second to the Olympic Games. The program of the Winter Universiade currently includes 6 compulsory sports (8 compulsory disciplines) and up to 3 optional sports chosen by the host country.